During mid July, Vale entered into an
agreement with the labor court of Betim
in Brazil and the Minas Gerais State Public
Ministry of Labor to pay R$400 million
(US$106.7 million) in damages to those
affected by the Brumadinho tailings dam
failure that occurred in January. The dam
burst left 247 people dead and 23 are
still missing.

The victim’s relatives of the dam
breach of the Córrego do Feijăo Mine can
register to receive compensation, starting
with individual payments. According to
the agreement, parents, spouses or partners
and children of deceased employees
will receive R$500,000 (US$36,139)
for moral damages. Siblings will receive
R$150,000 (US$10,841).
Accident insurance will be paid, as
well as allowance for childcare, education
assistance and medical insurance, the
company said in a statement.

The agreement also provides job stability
to its direct and third-party employees
of the Córrego do Feijăo mine on
the day of the breach, and survivors who
were working at the time of the breach,
for three years beginning January 25, and
can be converted into monetary compensation,
Vale said.
Vale will deposit the total amount for
moral damages on August 6. The previously
frozen amount of R$1.6 billion (US$427 million), which was set aside
to pay for damages, will be unfrozen, the
company said.

Vale said around 100,000 residents
in the Brumadinho region have already
received emergency compensation.
In early August, a court found Vale
responsible for the disaster and ordered
it to pay for all damages related to the
tragedy. The judge did not set an exact
amount at that time.